Concessions aside, the Genesis port looks and plays fantastic, given the circumstances. The soundtrack is phenomenal and alternates between rock jams and moody atmosphere. The gunplay can be cheap at times, but it’s rewarding and addicting enough that you’ll want to power through it to see the end (or ends). Likewise, the lack of a two-player mode is disappointing, but if you enjoy the game, there’s plenty of it to keep you occupied. Darius II doesn’t break the space shoot-em-up mold, but its consistently higher quality elevates it above the more common, mediocre Genesis shmups. Your move, Technosoft.

In terms of graphics, I found the backgrounds to be somewhat dull and the enemies fairly lackluster. One original element of Sagaia is the idea of "energy cores". These floating mines appear periodically and are usually difficult to hit, but set off an explosion that wipes out everything on the screen (like a smart bomb). They sometimes appear on boss encounters, usually floating near the lower edge of the screen. Another cool aspect is the branching levels, which let you select your next level after the first one, which is always the same. There are 28 stages in all, but that's a bit misleading since most tend to recycle the same enemies, backgrounds, and bosses. Still, there are 12 bosses in all, which is not too shabby. The difficulty is tweaked perfectly to keep you coming back for more. Shooter fans will want this in their collection.

I can't believe how many horizontally scrolling shoot 'em ups are being released on the Megadrive at the moment - it's getting a bit much. Still, if you haven't already tired of them, Darius 2 will get your trigger finger twitching with excitement. The action is fast and furious from the outset, with a myriad of small, but perfectly formed sprites to blast into oblivion. It's a pretty challenging game, and its lastability is boosted considerably thanks to the fact that there are 26 levels to fight through and seven different endings to see. Darius 2 isn't exactly heavy on the originality, but if you're after a slick and playable blaster which won't lose its appeal overnight, have a crack at this.

For just an arcade port, Sagaia does a fine job of playing on the Genesis. The branching system gives the game its nearly unlimited replay value, despite the lack of any good level design. The music and graphics are good for the most part, but don't expect anything spectacular. Aside from its few flaws, Sagaia is a good game for any Genesis gamer.

Yes, you guessed it! Another horizontally shoot 'em up with extra weaponry! Lordy, when will these programmers come up with a more original idea? Still, Darius has nice graphics and sound and is pretty playable as well. As we said before though, Hellfire is still the best blast around.

In Sagaia, the main problem is the poor sounds. Otherwise, it remains a worthy sequel to Darius, even adding more levels and different weapons options. One amusing aspect of this cart is the mini bosses that appear frequently through the game...they are the main bosses from Darius!